The present invention is generally related to Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Digital Subscriber Line Asynchronous Multiplexing (DSLAM) test monitoring, and more specifically to integrating the test monitoring within the IPTV architecture. IPTV denotes a system or architecture whereby a digital television service is delivered to a subscriber over a broadband connection provided by an IP DSLAM to the customer premise. This example uses a DSLAM, but any access node can be utilized.
Currently, end-user complaints are the first indication of a problem on the video service with an Internet Protocol (IP) Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM). The feedback necessary to insure customer satisfaction is not at present an integral part of the system. Additionally, problem identification in an IPTV system requires the use of manual test equipment and isolation of various components of the network up to the Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). Such problem identification may require a technician to manually test the different points of interest within the IP DSLAM, or perform the tests while the IP DSLAM is out-of-service. It may require dismantling the IP DSLAM to individually test the boards and the interfaces between those boards. Additionally, testing in this way by removing the IP DSLAM from service does not allow testing under normal operating conditions. By not being able to test under normal operating conditions, several test scenarios and test stimulus would need to be carefully crafted to cover all possible conditions of a real-time network. Placing the IP DSLAM out-of-service would also be costly to the customer causing considerable downtime. This type of testing would involve manual troubleshooting and analysis as there currently is no solution for the network or CPE environment to provide information upstream to a management element, also referred to as a remote monitoring station. Existing solutions that isolate sections of a network cannot test the isolated section's interaction with the entire network. Taking equipment out of service for testing can be objectionable to the end user, especially in an IPTV network, where downtime is not acceptable.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus to gather statistics from within any portion of an IPTV data stream without interrupting the data stream and to report this information upstream.